Paintings
"Painting is silent poetry and poetry is painting that speaks."
Simonides
Simonides
One of great pleasures of my work is the ability to see wonderful art and to have some time to learn about and to study these works and the artists who created them — so when I read the quote above, it resonated with me.
Art, like music, great literature, nature, love, friendship, humor, etc., is food for the soul and we all need more of that! The list that follows was REALLY hard to whittle down to TEN pieces but in each case, the piece truly captures, conveys and "speaks" to me about something which I value -- not surprisingly, the majority of these are either by Irish artists and/or of Irish subjects.
Art, like music, great literature, nature, love, friendship, humor, etc., is food for the soul and we all need more of that! The list that follows was REALLY hard to whittle down to TEN pieces but in each case, the piece truly captures, conveys and "speaks" to me about something which I value -- not surprisingly, the majority of these are either by Irish artists and/or of Irish subjects.
1. A Connemara Family
by Derek Clark (1913-2014)
A brilliant portrayal of a family in Galway, painted in 1946 after the artist (who was Scottish) was convalescing after the war in the Carraroe area. It is a stunning piece and feels like it is an accurate portrayal of what family life would have looked like for most people living in the countryside. Great style to the piece. Incidentally the young child who is dressed like a girl in the foreground is a boy.....why? In certain places in Ireland at that time there still persisted in popular mythology the notion of 'changelings' and little boys were "more attractive to the fairies" as substitutes for the changeling so as a means of protection, some families tried to conceal the identity of boys until they were old enough to no longer be at risk.......wild stuff indeed!
by Derek Clark (1913-2014)
A brilliant portrayal of a family in Galway, painted in 1946 after the artist (who was Scottish) was convalescing after the war in the Carraroe area. It is a stunning piece and feels like it is an accurate portrayal of what family life would have looked like for most people living in the countryside. Great style to the piece. Incidentally the young child who is dressed like a girl in the foreground is a boy.....why? In certain places in Ireland at that time there still persisted in popular mythology the notion of 'changelings' and little boys were "more attractive to the fairies" as substitutes for the changeling so as a means of protection, some families tried to conceal the identity of boys until they were old enough to no longer be at risk.......wild stuff indeed!
2. Dancing at the Northern Crossroads
by Charles Lamb (1893-1964)
Though I have not seen this piece in person, it is generally accepted as the artist's masterwork by people who know much more about this than me. Lamb was from the North (Armagh) and, like Clark, settled with his family in the Carraroe area of Galway. He was, to my eye, brilliant at capturing the mood and character of the people whom he encountered, in much the same way as Paul Henry was for the landscapes he visited.
http://www.crawfordartgallery.ie/pages/paintings/CharlesLamb.html
by Charles Lamb (1893-1964)
Though I have not seen this piece in person, it is generally accepted as the artist's masterwork by people who know much more about this than me. Lamb was from the North (Armagh) and, like Clark, settled with his family in the Carraroe area of Galway. He was, to my eye, brilliant at capturing the mood and character of the people whom he encountered, in much the same way as Paul Henry was for the landscapes he visited.
http://www.crawfordartgallery.ie/pages/paintings/CharlesLamb.html
3. King O'Toole
by Sean Keating (1889-1977)
A powerful depiction of an actual person who lived in the mountains and occasionally came down into the town only to survey and comment on the ancestral lands that his family had been dispossessed of, including the Sugarloaf Mtn. in the background. The strained, time worn mix of defiance and resignation on his face says it all.
http://www.crawfordartgallery.ie/images/educationimages/ArtistsBio/SeanKeatingbio.pdf
by Sean Keating (1889-1977)
A powerful depiction of an actual person who lived in the mountains and occasionally came down into the town only to survey and comment on the ancestral lands that his family had been dispossessed of, including the Sugarloaf Mtn. in the background. The strained, time worn mix of defiance and resignation on his face says it all.
http://www.crawfordartgallery.ie/images/educationimages/ArtistsBio/SeanKeatingbio.pdf
4. Reverie
by Wm McGregor Paxton (c 1917)
Stunning, languid, wistful and beautiful. The kind of piece that stays with you...by an American artist (Baltimore and Boston) of great renown who lived from 1869-1941. (And the frame on this piece is a "killer" also....)
http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/list.php?m=a&s=tu&aid=1845
by Wm McGregor Paxton (c 1917)
Stunning, languid, wistful and beautiful. The kind of piece that stays with you...by an American artist (Baltimore and Boston) of great renown who lived from 1869-1941. (And the frame on this piece is a "killer" also....)
http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/list.php?m=a&s=tu&aid=1845
5. Market by Moonlight
by Petrus Van Schendel (1806-1870)
A master of painting night scenes with moonlight and lamp light as the source of illumination, often similar market square type scenes. to say that this (and other great pieces by him ) "glow" would be understatement. There is something very ethereal but crisp about the painting that I love.
by Petrus Van Schendel (1806-1870)
A master of painting night scenes with moonlight and lamp light as the source of illumination, often similar market square type scenes. to say that this (and other great pieces by him ) "glow" would be understatement. There is something very ethereal but crisp about the painting that I love.
6. Escaping Criticism
by Pere Borrell de Caso,(1835-1910) dated 1874, Banco de España, Madrid.
Originally, I had no clue who painted this or when or what it is called or who the subject was....but when I saw it a month ago it "jumped out at me"...so to speak. That said, I thought the "premise" and execution were wonderful. After seeing this, a friend and colleague (who is an esteemed art expert), Richard Raymond Alasko, solved the puzzle. Below is the text of an article he forwarded on about this wonderful example of trompe- l'oeil painting.
ESCAPING CRITICISM
Everything that deceives may be said to enchant, thus wrote Plato. In the world of arts this idea is almost self-evident: the artist transforms dead materials like wood, marble or paint into his or her perception of the world. The very fact that this version of reality is subjective forms the essence of its attraction to the viewer.
There is one genre for which the art of deception forms its essence: the trompe-l’oeil. Here, the artist tries to trick our eye by creating a convincing optical illusion. Early examples of trompe-l’oeils can be found in Greek and Roman art, such as the famous murals in Pompeii, which offer views onto a non-existent landscape. Their popularity took a flight in the Baroque period, where the trompe-loeil’s illusionistic character perfectly suited the theatricality so embedded in this era.
This stunning nineteenth-century example of a trompe-l’oeil is by the Catalan artist Pere Borrell del Caso. The relatively unknown Borrell, who lived from 1835 until 1910, was the son of a carpenter. When he went to Barcelona as a young man to get his artistic training at the renowned Escola de la Llotja, he kept on working as a chest maker to pay for his classes.
Borrell distanced himself from the Romanticism that dominated the education at the academy. He rejected the idealization and insincerity that, in his eyes, were so typical of Romantic art and chose to change to the novel style of Realism. He founded his own art academy, the Sociedad de Bellas Artes. Here, students were encouraged to work en plein air, a rare phenomenon in those days.
This painting, that shows an ill-clothed boy who clambers out of a picture frame to enter the world outside it, is entitled ‘Fugint de la crítica’ (Escaping criticism). Though its exact meaning or intention are unknown, it is not unlikely that Borrell referred to the conservative art critics of his days, who only wanted to see heroes and ethics, thus ignoring the vitality of the real world.
(Text: Maarten Levendig & Pauline Dorhout)
by Pere Borrell de Caso,(1835-1910) dated 1874, Banco de España, Madrid.
Originally, I had no clue who painted this or when or what it is called or who the subject was....but when I saw it a month ago it "jumped out at me"...so to speak. That said, I thought the "premise" and execution were wonderful. After seeing this, a friend and colleague (who is an esteemed art expert), Richard Raymond Alasko, solved the puzzle. Below is the text of an article he forwarded on about this wonderful example of trompe- l'oeil painting.
ESCAPING CRITICISM
Everything that deceives may be said to enchant, thus wrote Plato. In the world of arts this idea is almost self-evident: the artist transforms dead materials like wood, marble or paint into his or her perception of the world. The very fact that this version of reality is subjective forms the essence of its attraction to the viewer.
There is one genre for which the art of deception forms its essence: the trompe-l’oeil. Here, the artist tries to trick our eye by creating a convincing optical illusion. Early examples of trompe-l’oeils can be found in Greek and Roman art, such as the famous murals in Pompeii, which offer views onto a non-existent landscape. Their popularity took a flight in the Baroque period, where the trompe-loeil’s illusionistic character perfectly suited the theatricality so embedded in this era.
This stunning nineteenth-century example of a trompe-l’oeil is by the Catalan artist Pere Borrell del Caso. The relatively unknown Borrell, who lived from 1835 until 1910, was the son of a carpenter. When he went to Barcelona as a young man to get his artistic training at the renowned Escola de la Llotja, he kept on working as a chest maker to pay for his classes.
Borrell distanced himself from the Romanticism that dominated the education at the academy. He rejected the idealization and insincerity that, in his eyes, were so typical of Romantic art and chose to change to the novel style of Realism. He founded his own art academy, the Sociedad de Bellas Artes. Here, students were encouraged to work en plein air, a rare phenomenon in those days.
This painting, that shows an ill-clothed boy who clambers out of a picture frame to enter the world outside it, is entitled ‘Fugint de la crítica’ (Escaping criticism). Though its exact meaning or intention are unknown, it is not unlikely that Borrell referred to the conservative art critics of his days, who only wanted to see heroes and ethics, thus ignoring the vitality of the real world.
(Text: Maarten Levendig & Pauline Dorhout)
7. The Turf Cutter
by Charles Lamb
Speaks volumes about the strength of character and constitution required to live and prosper in the countryside of Ireland.
by Charles Lamb
Speaks volumes about the strength of character and constitution required to live and prosper in the countryside of Ireland.
8. The Session
by JB Vallely (b 1941)
A great piece from one of Ireland's most respected painters working today. Vallely is from a great musical family in Armagh (and a piper himself) and this piece does a fine job of depicting the unique combination of steady concentration and locomotion required to play music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vOQmN8nJy0
by JB Vallely (b 1941)
A great piece from one of Ireland's most respected painters working today. Vallely is from a great musical family in Armagh (and a piper himself) and this piece does a fine job of depicting the unique combination of steady concentration and locomotion required to play music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vOQmN8nJy0
9. Mass in a Connemara Cabin
by Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936) <painted c 1886>
"The image of a priest saying mass for a gathering of people in a cottage depicts an Irish custom known as The Stations, which was a way for Catholics to practice their religion at times of oppression, when they were forced to meet in secrecy. The laws preventing Catholic worship were repealed in the late eighteenth century, yet, The Stations continued as a common religious and social practice. O’Kelly may portray a new priest, groomed to assume his role in the Catholic Church, returning home to say an Ordination Mass for his family and neighbours, his Chesterfield coat and silk top hat on a súgan chair.
It is one of a series of pictures by O’Kelly depicting the everyday life of rural communities in Connemara. Rather than conveying the harsh realities of existence, a healthy dignified community is shown, dressed in their finest clothes, strongly connected to their traditions. A colorful dramatic scene, the girls are shown in white as the women wear plaid shawls with red petticoats, each figure depicted individually. Care was taken preparing the house for the priest and this room is tidy and well-furnished. The furniture is represented accurately revealing the artist’s keen interest in domestic life, as in the case of the red dresser with rope moulding. Some objects, including the strainer and dash churn for making butter, reflect the working life of the people."
(Excerpt from West of Ireland Paintings at the NGI):
http://www.nationalgallery.ie/en/Research/GiftofKnowledge/CSIA/CSIA_Grid/Aloysius_O_Kelly.aspx
http://www.nationalgallery.ie/en/Learning/Resources/~/media/Files/Education/Schools/West_of_Ireland_Paintings_at_the_NGI.ashx
by Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1936) <painted c 1886>
"The image of a priest saying mass for a gathering of people in a cottage depicts an Irish custom known as The Stations, which was a way for Catholics to practice their religion at times of oppression, when they were forced to meet in secrecy. The laws preventing Catholic worship were repealed in the late eighteenth century, yet, The Stations continued as a common religious and social practice. O’Kelly may portray a new priest, groomed to assume his role in the Catholic Church, returning home to say an Ordination Mass for his family and neighbours, his Chesterfield coat and silk top hat on a súgan chair.
It is one of a series of pictures by O’Kelly depicting the everyday life of rural communities in Connemara. Rather than conveying the harsh realities of existence, a healthy dignified community is shown, dressed in their finest clothes, strongly connected to their traditions. A colorful dramatic scene, the girls are shown in white as the women wear plaid shawls with red petticoats, each figure depicted individually. Care was taken preparing the house for the priest and this room is tidy and well-furnished. The furniture is represented accurately revealing the artist’s keen interest in domestic life, as in the case of the red dresser with rope moulding. Some objects, including the strainer and dash churn for making butter, reflect the working life of the people."
(Excerpt from West of Ireland Paintings at the NGI):
http://www.nationalgallery.ie/en/Research/GiftofKnowledge/CSIA/CSIA_Grid/Aloysius_O_Kelly.aspx
http://www.nationalgallery.ie/en/Learning/Resources/~/media/Files/Education/Schools/West_of_Ireland_Paintings_at_the_NGI.ashx
10. Carolan the Irish Bard
by JC (James Christopher) Timbrell, 1840
As I have spent alot of time with this piece this last year, it is my "favorite" of the ten. There is SO much going on here (see CD booklet write-up for the AIC Ireland Crossroads exhibit attached) that it is hard to know where to start-- but suffice to say the following:
1) we know VERY little about the artist who came from an artistic family in Dublin (sculptor/ brother Henry Timbrell was more well-known) who seems to have stepped into obscurity after painting and exhibiting this piece, with the exception of executing some illustrations for Mrs. SC Hall's Sketches of Irish Character and Ireland: Its Scenery and Character, a popular book series at the time.
2) it depicts an apocryphal event of some interest to Irish musicians—the moment when O'Carolan's Concerto was allegedly composed during a 'test of wits' between O'Carolan and Francesco Geminiani, the noted classical violinist and teacher who was in-residence in Dublin at the time. (There are several versions of this story and this one "the face to face meeting" was first reported by Oliver Goldsmith in 1760.)
3) it appears to convey the truth about a widely held misconception, that there was no Irish Catholic gentry to speak of at the time—notice the Dominican cleric at the end of the table who would not likely have been welcome in a Protestant "big house" of the day.
4) it seems to also reference the sense of mutual scorn (historically documented) between the clergy and O'Carolan-note the long and disinterested face/stance of the priest. Apparently, the clergy had a low and vocal opinion of O'Carolans' drinking habits and when this was made known to O' Carolan, he allegedly responded: "While it may be true that I enjoy a drink on occasion, I've never known one of "them" to die of the thirst."
5) somewhat like the painter, the painting disappeared from sight for over 100 years, only to be discovered by chance by an Irish priest in the late 1970s as it was hanging on the wall of a Stockholm cafe. His efforts, along with those of the Irish Ambassador to Sweden at the time, enabled the painting to find its way back "home" when it was put up for auction at Sotheby's in London.
6) its discovery and complicated re-purchase into Ireland led to it being the model for the Series B 50 pound note......I could go on.
by JC (James Christopher) Timbrell, 1840
As I have spent alot of time with this piece this last year, it is my "favorite" of the ten. There is SO much going on here (see CD booklet write-up for the AIC Ireland Crossroads exhibit attached) that it is hard to know where to start-- but suffice to say the following:
1) we know VERY little about the artist who came from an artistic family in Dublin (sculptor/ brother Henry Timbrell was more well-known) who seems to have stepped into obscurity after painting and exhibiting this piece, with the exception of executing some illustrations for Mrs. SC Hall's Sketches of Irish Character and Ireland: Its Scenery and Character, a popular book series at the time.
2) it depicts an apocryphal event of some interest to Irish musicians—the moment when O'Carolan's Concerto was allegedly composed during a 'test of wits' between O'Carolan and Francesco Geminiani, the noted classical violinist and teacher who was in-residence in Dublin at the time. (There are several versions of this story and this one "the face to face meeting" was first reported by Oliver Goldsmith in 1760.)
3) it appears to convey the truth about a widely held misconception, that there was no Irish Catholic gentry to speak of at the time—notice the Dominican cleric at the end of the table who would not likely have been welcome in a Protestant "big house" of the day.
4) it seems to also reference the sense of mutual scorn (historically documented) between the clergy and O'Carolan-note the long and disinterested face/stance of the priest. Apparently, the clergy had a low and vocal opinion of O'Carolans' drinking habits and when this was made known to O' Carolan, he allegedly responded: "While it may be true that I enjoy a drink on occasion, I've never known one of "them" to die of the thirst."
5) somewhat like the painter, the painting disappeared from sight for over 100 years, only to be discovered by chance by an Irish priest in the late 1970s as it was hanging on the wall of a Stockholm cafe. His efforts, along with those of the Irish Ambassador to Sweden at the time, enabled the painting to find its way back "home" when it was put up for auction at Sotheby's in London.
6) its discovery and complicated re-purchase into Ireland led to it being the model for the Series B 50 pound note......I could go on.
Miscellaneous
Charles Lamb
Derek Clark
Petrus Van Schendel
Sean Keating
